Advance Directives by Terminally Ill Patients: A Grounded Theory

Truth, death is inevitable. With life comes death and it is only a matter of when and how. The how part always come in either of the three, by accident, old age or disease. And most often than not it is disease which caused most deaths in the world. This study is focused on determining the effects of terminal illness in every aspect of a patient’s life and the advantages and disadvantages of advance directives in their decision-making for their health care administration. The researchers used a single group of 10 respondents suffering from terminal illness, from different cities and municipalities in Batangas. The primary gathering instrument used by the researchers was personal interview of the informants structured interview for a more focused collection of the necessary data. As can be gleaned from the responses of the participants to the questions propounded to them regarding their illness in relation to advance directives, the researchers were able to draw themes which are Advance Directives awareness, attitude towards Advance Directives, Advance Directives as a family decision, perception and organ donation, plans for the family and divine intervention as a replacement.

Keywords: Advance Directives, Terminally Ill